A Novel Experience
by periwinkled
Summary: "Be honest with me, right away.  Do you think you can do that?"    He chewed on it, then nodded.  "Yeah, I can.  Gee, two people who love each other working together instead of against one another.  How delightfully bourgeois."
1. Conversations with the Ceiling

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the baby._

Quick A/N: I've been watching Veronica Mars for the first time and I've stalled at episode 3.11 because I know that I'm about to see LoVe break up again and I can't take it. I'll finish the series eventually, but for the moment I decided to write my own little AU, taking off at the end of 3.11. It'll have multiple chapters, I just don't know how many at the moment.

* * *

><p><em>Madison Sinclair. He'd slept with Madison Sinclair.<em>

Veronica lay in bed, staring at her ceiling. It wasn't the most attractive ceiling she'd ever seen, but it served her well enough. They'd gotten to know one another pretty well of late, her ugly ceiling and her. It sat up there, keeping her covered and dry, and she lay down below, aggressively not sleeping. Sleep meant unpleasant dreams of naked Madison Sinclair, who, as it turned out, was the only person more irritating that _clothed_ Madison Sinclair.

So she didn't sleep. She starred at the ceiling. And each day she arose a little punchier than the day before. Punchier, and angrier.

He'd said he'd been with a horrible girl. He'd given her that much. He hadn't _lied_, he'd just omitted the nightmare-inducing part. She wondered vaguely if he had nightmares of it, too. After all, he was the one who'd _actually_ seen her naked. He'd probably been drunk, the ass. The thought made her unaccountably angrier. If she was suffering like this, he should have to, as well.

Her alarm clock began to trill, and Veronica reached a hand out to silence it. Enough was enough. This was already affecting her personal life, soon it would begin to wreck havoc on her studies. Something had to give.

* * *

><p>"You look like hell."<p>

Veronica looked blearily up from her coffee. "Mac. You know just what to say to make a girl feel beautiful."

Mac plopped into the chair next to Veronica in the dining hall. "Still not sleeping, huh?"

Veronica grunted. She assumed her face told the whole story. Mac was the only person she'd told about Madison's revelation, knowing she'd also be the only one to truly appreciate the horror of it.

"Have you actually asked him about it?" Veronica mumbled something. "What?"

"No."

Mac laughed, unsurprised. "You know, Bond, as fearless and confrontational as you are, you can be the biggest wimp. What is it about Logan that makes you assume the worst without questioning him?"

She colored. "I'm not as bad as I used to be."

"Dude, that is not saying much." She stood, said "I've got to get to class," and started to turn away. "Veronica."

Veronica looked up.

"Will you promise me you'll give him a fair chance to explain before storming off?"

Veronica had already made herself the same promise, so she nodded easily. "I will. You're not wrong about me, Mac. It's just...tough."

Mac laughed wrying and shifted her bag from one should to the other. "I get that. I wouldn't want your nightmares, dude. Not even if it meant a lifetime of using Vista. No way."

With that parting shot, she strode off to class, leaving Veronica where she'd found her, moodily contemplating her coffee. Several minutes passed before it occurred to her that she had a class, too. She looked up to check the wall clock and her gaze clashed with Logan's, sitting patiently across from her.

She jumped. "Whoa! Where'd you come from?"

He smirked, but there was no bite to it. "The parking garage. You okay?" When she didn't answer, he forged on. "Don't you have class?"

"What? Yes. No. Yes." He blinked. "What?"

"Really. _Are_ you okay?" His smirk was gone, replaced wholly by concern. Which was somehow worse than every minute of ridicule and cruelty he'd put her 16-year-old self through.

She stood quickly, abandoning her now cold coffee and grabbing her bag and books. "Sorry, I haven't really been sleeping. And I do have class." She cast him a distracted smile and started to brush past him. He stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

"Veronica. Why won't you talk to me?"

She turned back to him, intending to throw out a quip and go on her way, but her eyes met his and for the first time in days she didn't immediately see him twined with Madison in her mind's eye; she only saw him. Before she could think about what she was doing, she lowered her lips to the top of his head and rested them there for a moment, burying her nose in his hair and inhaling to draw in the crisp, familiar scent of him. Her free hand brushed against his cheek, and if she could have see his face she would have seen him close his eyes, savoring the moment.

She murmured something softly, then walked away. He watched her go, heart stuttering in his chest.

_I love you_, she'd said, for the first time. He should be elated, but instead he was terrified. She looked at him with such heartbreaking affection, and it was worse somehow then when she'd accused him of murder all those year ago.

* * *

><p>When he'd begged, borrowed, and bribed his way into Hearst, Logan had never imagined it would lead to this very moment, sitting in a Survey of Western Art class and studying something painted on a wall in a city hundreds of miles away. Even less expected was the fact that he was doing so and not hating it. As an undeclared freshman, his schedule was all general requirement classes, but he was actually thinking about registering for additional art history courses next year. When Dick had ragged on him about it, he'd justified himself with the argument that the bulk of his inheritance from his mother was her extensive art collection, but the truth was that he actually enjoyed it.<p>

Would he be declaring himself an art history major? Probably not. But it was a novel experience, finding enjoyment in a class other than weight-lifting. Logan didn't come across too many novel experiences in his day-to-day life.

He thought back to this morning's puzzling conversation with Veronica. He wondered what it was like sometimes, for guys with normal girlfriends. Did they have trackers in their phones, too? Conversations about topics other than various broken laws? He tried to imagine having a conversation with Veronica about something normal...politics, perhaps. Now _that_ would be novel.

He'd planned to meet her outside her bio lab, but decided to head to the library instead. He had an exam next week, and just because he enjoyed looking at early Renaissance art didn't mean he'd memorized all of the artists and dates. He knew the last thing they needed in their relationship was less communication, but he felt almost desperate to distance himself from this morning. Something was wrong, and he would ask her about it, just...not right this minute.

* * *

><p>Right this minute, all Veronica wanted in the world was to get to her dad's office and immerse herself in some simple, straightforward catching of cheating spouses. She could lose herself in the easy routine of research and not have to think about her boyfriend or his erstwhile hook-up for a while. She beelined for her car, but let out a huff of impatience at the sight of a woman standing behind it with a baby carriage.<p>

"Excuse me, ma'am," she started as she approached, but she fell silent when the woman turned her way. "_Mom?"_

Lianne Mars cast her a tentative smile. "Hello, Veronica. How are you?"

Veronica sputtered. "How am I-where have you _been-_we've heard nothing-do you have _any idea _how many student loans-" she cut herself off and drew in a calming breath. "Mom. What do you want?"

Lianne seemed to be bracing herself. "I know I have no right to ask you for this-for _anything_-after what I put you and your father through. I know that, and I wouldn't blame you if you kicked me to the curb. But I'm hoping you won't do it for me, anyways." She took a deep breath. "I'm checking myself into rehab. I messed up before. I was a terrible mother to you, a terrible wife to your father, and I just didn't see what was so wrong about what I was doing. I wish I could take it back, but I can't. I can't do it over for you."

Lianne looked down at the baby carriage, acknowledging it for the first time. Veronica had all but forgotten it was there. She rolled it back and forth a little, and the contents made a happy little sound. Veronica was afraid to look. Lianne continued. "I can't do it for you, but I can for her." She looked up, and the expression in her eyes was hopeful and honest in a way that Veronica hadn't seen in years. "Veronica, this is your sister."

Veronica didn't want to look. She wanted to remain ignorant. She wanted the world to go back to 20 minutes ago, when her biggest concern was what trashy lingerie her nemesis would show up wearing in her nightmares that evening. All of which was foolish. She stepped forward.

The baby was young, but not a newborn. Maybe a few months old? She was wearing a pretty red checked dress with a matching headband and she waved one plump fist in the direction of her mother. Veronica reached out to touch the little hand, and promptly found her finger caught in a surprisingly tight grip. "Mom, my God..."

"Will you help me, Veronica? Will you help me be better for her? And for you, too, though I know it's years and years overdue. You won't be paying for anything this time."

"So what do you need me for?"

"I need you to believe that I can do it. And...I need you to be a big sister to Eleanor."

Veronica read between the lines of that statement and whipped her eyes up to meet her mother's. "Mom!"

"I know. You're a college student, this shouldn't have to be your life. But I don't trust her anywhere else. _Please_."

Veronica studied first her mother, and then her sister. _Eleanor_. "What's her last name?"

"Veronica-"

"Mom, what name did you give her?"

"Mars."

"Okay." She pulled in a deep breath. "Okay. One condition. No, two." Her mother nodded. "First, there will be no moving back in with us. Dad is with someone else, Mom, and he's _happy_. He's so happy, and I don't want to see that change. Eleanor..." she stumbled over the name a little "Eleanor can stay with us for as long as it takes you to get sober. Okay?"

Lianne nodded happily.

"The other condition is...when that happens, when you're sober...you stay. It doesn't need to be here, it doesn't need to be nearby, but no more disappearing. If you're going to be my mom, then you need to be my mom."

Lianne seemed not to have a verbal answer to this, but she reached out and grabbed hold of her daughter. Veronica told herself not to let herself hope, but...it felt really good to be held by her mother again.

* * *

><p>Keith Mars had been tracking a bail jumper through Oregon for the last week, and it felt <em>good<em> to be home, back in his familiar hallway with its familiar flickering lights and a nice fat check in his pocket (the last part wasn't as familiar as the others, but he would take it). He'd seen Veronica's car out front, so he flung open the door with all of the panache running on six days of fumes had left him and started on his favourite refrain of "Who's your daddy?" when a hand covered his mouth.

"Whff?" He regarded his daughter in confusion. She looked ragged.

"She just fell asleep and I swear on all that is holy if you wake her up I will make your life a living hell."

She removed her hand, and Keith responded, echoing her whisper. "Are you babysitting?" he approached the carrier sitting on the couch with curiosity.

"No, we are. Sort of. Dad, I'd like to introduce you to Eleanor Mars."

Veronica slammed her hand over his mouth before he could exclaim. "Living hell, remember? Let's go into your office for a spell." She took the phone receiver on her desk off the cradle and pressed a button so it would page the phone in Keith's office, effectively creating an open line. She shrugged when Keith sent her an inquisitive look. "Poor man's baby monitor. Now come on, Daddio, we've got a long conversation ahead of us."

* * *

><p>Logan had given up on studying hours before and had turned to Dick and Halo to further distract him from the Veronica-shaped cloud he felt hanging over his head. Neither had been particularly effective. "Enough." He threw his controller down and stood.<p>

Dick crowed in triumph. "Haha! Your surrender spells victory for me!"

He smiled. It was hard to be glum around Dick. "I need to get out of here. Catch you later?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Good talk, roomie."

"Hey, screw you."

He hadn't had a plan when he got in the car, but was unsurprised when he ended up in front of the Mars' apartment complex. He spotted Veronica's Saturn and decided that it was time for that cloud to burn off or rain down. Either way, the tension of the past week was coming to an end today.

There was a lot of noise coming from inside the Mars apartment, which was odd in and of itself, but odder still was when the door was opened for him by a smallish boy who Logan vaguely recognized as Wallace's brother. "Hey...Darryl, right?"

"Yeah! Hi, Logan! Have you come to meet the baby, too?"

"What?" He looked past the boy into the apartment. Sure enough, there was a baby carrier sitting on the kitchen counter, empty. He walked in and found the rest of the room's occupants; Keith and Alicia, Wallace and Darryl's mom, sitting on the couch cooing over a baby in a red dress. Backup was sitting as close to the infant as he could, thoughtfully sniffing her head. Keith looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Logan. Veronica's in her room."

He nodded, mystified, and headed back in that direction.

Veronica opened her door a moment after he knocked, looking about as wrecked as he'd ever seen her. Her face lit up in the first genuine smile he'd seen on her in days and she threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck. "Oh, I missed you."

He automatically brought his arms up to curve around her back. "It's only been six or seven hours since you saw me."

She tightened her grip and just seemed to breath him in. "I know. I know, but then everything changed and all I wanted to do was see you."

Well, he wasn't going to argue with his good fortune, but still..."Veronica, what the hell is going on?"

She laughed. "Feel like taking a walk on the beach?"

* * *

><p>"So your mom just showed up in the parking lot? Just like that?"<p>

"Yup."

They were strolling down the shore near the apartment, Backup snuffling along next to them.

"And-what? Said 'Here's your sister you've never met, now drive me to rehab?'"

Veronica laughed, and was gratified that it sounded a little less crazed than it had only a couple of hours before. "Basically."

"And you did it?"

"Well, I laid down some ground rules, but yes."

"Did you even ask her who the father is?"

Veronica came to a halt and turned to face the ocean. "I didn't need to."

"What do you mean?" Logan drew up next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she leaned into him.

"Her name is Eleanor. Eleanor Mars."

The name didn't have the immediate significance with Logan that it had had with Veronica, so she waited while he puzzled it out. "Wait. Didn't Duncan have a Grandma Eleanor?"

She nodded against his chest. "Yup. She was Jake's mother."

"Jesus. Do you think he knows?"

"I honestly have no idea. The fact that she gave her our last name suggests to me that he doesn't. Plus she seemed a little desperate to have us take her. Which is odd, since he could certainly provide for her better financially than us."

Logan let that sink in, then said, "So Duncan has a sister who's younger than his daughter. That's...weird."

Veronica pulled back to look him in the eye, the expression on her face clearly stating she hadn't even thought of that. "Oh my God, you're right." She laughed. "Duncan and I have a sister. Oh man, this is weird."

"Do you know how to get in touch with him? I think this is something he'd like to know."

Veronica smiled at him and reached a hand out to smooth over his hair. "You know you've never asked me that before. I always wondered why."

He winced. "I was afraid the answer was yes. I could never compete with Duncan. Not when it came to you. I knew I'd only won you back because he was gone. So I decided that I preferred ignorance."

Veronica studied him, then sat down in the sand and pulled him down next to her. "You're wrong, you know. Duncan could never compete with _you_. The whole time we were together senior year, I felt like I was playing a part. Trying to be the Veronica he'd known and loved while Lilly was still alive. I couldn't pretend to be that girl with you. I could only ever be the hard, unforgiving creature I'd become."

He grinned a little at her choice of words. "I love that creature, you know."

She grinned back. "I know. I kind of love her, too."

He leaned forward to press a kiss to her temple. "Good."

"And no, by the way. The answer is no. I don't know how to get in touch with Duncan. I never did. I didn't really want to know. It was falling apart, you know. The illusion. My act. Even before little Lilly was born, it was falling apart. Ironically, it was my anger with you that kept it going. I'd see you with Kendall and then try a little harder with Duncan, just to spite you."

He pulled her closer as the breeze off of the ocean picked up and whipped at her hair. "That sort of backfired on me then, didn't it?" Suddenly he pulled back and grinned down at her. "Did we just have a normal conversation about our relationship? Like other, non-crime-fighting couples do?"

She considered, then nodded. "I think we did."

"Of course, this was all about stuff that happened last year. Want to see if we can apply it to the recent stuff?"

She sat up a little straighter, then nodded.

"This morning. What was that about?"

"Madison Sinclair."

"Oh. Shit."

"Yeah."

"How did you...?"

"Do you honestly want to know how I found out the specific identity of the horrible girl you slept with while we were broken up? I didn't go looking for it, if that's what you're asking."

It hadn't been, but he was a little gratified to know that she hadn't.

"There I was, waiting to buy lingerie, trying to be a good girlfriend, and out of nowhere Madison Sinclair is giving me tips on what makes my boyfriend go 'Awoooga! Awoooga!' like some cartoon dog."

"You were buying lingerie?"

"Not the point, Echolls!"

"I think it's a pretty good point to start with-"

"Logan!"

He laughed. "She doesn't even know, you know."

"What?"

"Madison. She was screwing with you. She doesn't know what makes steam come out of my ears anymore than Dick does."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you've managed the herculean task of keeping your friendship with Dick platonic." She fell silent for a moment. "She doesn't?"

He sat back a little and looked at the sky. "I was in Aspen. Dick's mom has a place out there, so we went there for Christmas. It seemed like the thing the do. Neither of us exactly have family anymore. Dick threw a party. I don't even know how Madison got there, if she was in the area by coincidence, if Dick invited her, what. I was drunk and miserable and missing you and trying desperately to convince myself that I wasn't missing you. And she was there. I guess." He looked back down to meet her eyes. "I was not a...romantic coupling. I don't remember a great deal of it, but I remember that. We both stayed pretty much clothed, so I have no way of knowing what lingerie she was even wearing, and she certainly has no way of knowing whether it would make my eyes roll back in my head, or whatever."

"Okay, that's enough of the cartoon dog metaphor. I get it."

"You started it."

"And I'm ending it. Go on."

"That's just it, there's nothing else. I would have chalked it up to a drunk hallucination if Dick hadn't taunted me about it the next day. And then her showing up at the hotel sort of cinched it, too."

"So you haven't even seen her naked?"

"What? No. That's what I just said."

Veronica punched a hand viciously into the sand. "Well, that's just not fair."

Logan sent her a baffled look. "I thought that would make you happy!"

"It does! It would! Normally. But I haven't had a full night's sleep in a _week_ because every time I close my goddamn eyes I see naked Madison Sinclair all writhing and...and...in your bed!"

"We weren't even in my bed, we were in some closet in Aspen-"

"So not the point!"

"So that's what this morning was about? You being haunted by me and a naked Madison Sinclair?"

"If you'd like me to ever be able to sleep again, you'll stop saying those words."

"Noted."

"But, yes. It was driving me insane."

"Veronica, why didn't you _ask_ me about it? I could have gotten rid of the naked-" she cut him off with a glare. "The _nightmares_ before they even started."

"I know. Same reason you never asked about Duncan, I guess. I was afraid of the truth, so I convinced myself I could live with not knowing. I didn't count on the nightmares."

"Veronica." Logan shook his head ruefully. "God, we're a pair, aren't we?"

"Yeah."

They were silent for a few minutes, watching the waves. Backup had dug himself a hole in the sand and was gleefully rolling around on his back inside of it.

"Do you want to be with me?" Logan's voice pulled her back from her thoughts. "No lying, no prevaricating. Just tell me, face to face. Do you want to be with me?"

Veronica met his eyes. "Yes. We're messy and complicated, but yes. I want to be with you."

He held her gaze without speaking for a moment, searching for what she didn't know. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. Then we need to do something."

"What?"

"Ground rules."

"What?"

"Like you did with you mom. We need ground rules to keep us from being stupid."

Veronica laughed wryly. "Oh honey, you know all the right things to say."

He grinned at her. "Sorry. But I mean it. Like...okay. Okay. Rule number one: Don't assume the worst."

She grimaced. "Ah. Right."

"Veronica, I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else. Hurting you is the _last_ thing I want to do. Do you think you can believe that? To...think of it first instead of automatically trying me and finding me guilty in some sort of mental court of Veronica Mars?"

"Yes. Is it my turn?"

"Yes."

"Okay, rule number two is...defend yourself. I know that letting people think the worst of you was a defense mechanism for you, Logan. I know that it was necessary for a long time. But it isn't necessary anymore. So if something happens, don't even let me get to the point where assumptions are being made. Be honest with me, right away. Do you think you can do that?"

He chewed on it, then nodded. "Yeah, I can. Gee, two people who love each other working together instead of against one another. How delightfully bourgeois."

She laughed. "We really have made things tough for one another, haven't we?" She looked back towards the apartment block. "And it's about to get tougher."

"Yeah." Logan stood and reached a hand down to help her up. "It looked like your dad and Mrs. Fennel are pretty okay with it, though."

"I think they're still riding the baby high. They weren't the ones who spent two hours getting her to take a nap this afternoon."

"So what were your ground rules with your mom?"

"She wasn't moving back in and couldn't claim Dad. He's with Alicia, and they're stupidly happy. I'm not letting her screw that up for him. The other was that she's not allowed to run away again."

Logan took Backup's leash out of her hand and laced his fingers with hers. "That would be a good rule for us too, don't you think?"

Veronica leaned her head against his arm, loving the solid feel of his bicep, the way he had of rubbing his thumb over her hand. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a good rule. Though it might be the toughest one for me to follow. I guess I have more of my mom in me than I'd like."

"Tell you what. If you're really mad at me, if we've talked and you're still angry enough to run, call Wallace or Mac first. Hell, call Dick. Wallace, Mac, or Dick. Don't just vanish on me. I don't think I could take that."

Veronica knew he was thinking of his mom. She tugged on his hand to get him to stop and pulled him down to lay her lips on his. The kiss got away from them quickly, and it took Backup yelping to break them out of it. Logan realized that he'd tried to wrap the hand holding Backup's leash around the back of Veronica's neck, and inadvertently choked the dog. He knelt down to check on him.

"Sorry, buddy. You okay?" Backup responded with a kiss of his own.

"Aw, we Marses just can't get enough of you, it seems," Veronica said, laughing.


	2. A Little Duplex By The Sea

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the baby. And the real estate agent, now. Who has my name and my best friend's personality._

* * *

><p>Veronica remembered the days when the only noise in the mornings at the Mars residence was that of pre-coffee sniping. Vaguely. Most of the time she was pretty sure she'd made them up.<p>

She stumbled out of her bedroom and into the living room to confront the source of the cacophony. Her father, half-shaved, stuck his head out the bathroom door. "Baby or dog?" she asked him.

"I've got a meeting to get to, so: dog."

"Crap." Veronica leaned into the bassinet to greet her shrieking sister. "Good morning, you terrible banshee." She lifted the infant to her shoulder and did a little please-stop-crying dance, to no avail. Backup, who apparently considered it his new mission in life to cry whenever the baby did, continued to howl. "Shut up, Backup, you'll get fed, too."

Keith emerged from the bathroom and grabbed the dog leash. "How about you make us some coffee?" he asked in a teeth-rottingly cheery voice.

"How about screw you?" Veronica scowled at his back as he strolled chuckling out the door. Eleanor continued to cry. "Alright, alright, it's diaper time. We loooove diaper time." She lay the baby on what had once been her father's dresser but had since been relegated to the changing table. Ellie sent her a dubious look. "Yes, I'm lying. I hate diaper time. But after diaper time it's food time!"

That got an actual reaction. Veronica figured it wasn't possible for someone with Mars as a last name to hate food time. She heard a noise in the kitchen and, assuming it was her father back from walking Backup called out "I know you called dog, but can you get a bottle out for her?"

The voice which responded with "Where are they?" was not her father's.

"Logan?"

"Good morning," he greeted from the doorway.

"Did we have plans today? Crap, crap, crap."

"Now now, is that a baby-friendly word?"

"Oh, shove off."

He looked far too delighted with her and she wanted to smack the stupid grin off his face. "And no, we didn't have plans. But you mentioned yesterday you were free, and I have something to show you."

"Well, I hope it's baby-friendly, because I'm on Ellie duty today."

He watched her finish changing the baby, curious as to what the process entailed. "It is."

"Good. Here," she thrust her sister into his arms and brushed past him. "I'll make her breakfast if you can hold her for a minute."

"Jesus Veronica, I've never held a..." he trailed off as the baby shifted in his arms, terrified he'd drop her.

"Bring her in here and sit on the couch if it'll make you more comfortable," his unsympathetic girlfriend called from the next room.

He walked very carefully, then settled gratefully into the blue checked chair. Ellie was lying along his left arm, watching him curiously and sucking on one fist. "Can I just put her back in her basket?"

"No, she'll be eating in a minute. Just hold on."

He looked up from one blue-eyed blonde to study another, watching as she bustled around the kitchen, filling a bottle, starting the coffee maker, and getting bowls out for cereal.

"Are you hungry?"

"Uh...sure. I guess."

She took out a third bowl.

"This is incredibly odd."

"It's just a small human, Logan, they're perfectly normal."

"No, I mean you. With a baby. I just keep thinking about the robot baby you and Duncan had. You were _terrible_ with that thing."

Veronica shot him a wry look. "If it's odd for you, how do you think it feels for me?" She carried over a bottle and handed it to him. "Can you feed her while I grab a shower?" He started to protest, but she spoke over him. "Just hold her exactly how you already are, take the bottle with the other hand, and do this." She positioned his hand so he was holding the bottle to Ellie's lips. The baby immediately grasped the nipple and started chugging away. "There you go. If she pulls away, let her, but give her the chance to drink again. She should down the whole thing, but it's not the end of the world if she doesn't. Thanks, babe." She pressed a kiss to his forehead and disappeared around the corner.

Logan looked back down at the happily drinking baby. He took a deep breath. "Okay. Just, uh, don't choke."

* * *

><p>Keith opened the door to the apartment, surprised and pleased when the scent of coffee brewing greeted him. We unclipped Backup's leash, then froze at the sight of Logan Echolls sitting in his living room, feeding a baby.<p>

The younger man smiled at him uncertainly. "Morning, Mr. Mars."

"Logan. Give me some time to process the sight of my daughter's boyfriend with a baby and I'll get back to you."

"Sounds good, sir."

It wasn't that he didn't like Logan Echolls. He had, at one point, been very opposed to the idea of him dating Veronica, but he'd saved Veronica's life and it was hard to hate someone who'd done that. Plus, he clearly loved her and was about as protective of her as Keith was. He knew Logan had helped her out of a couple jams, and knowing his daughter's tendency to keep things from him, there were likely other rescues he didn't know about. They'd forged themselves something of an uneasy truce, and Keith was willing to give Logan the benefit of a doubt for Veronica's sake.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"That would be great, thanks. Veronica's, uh, in the shower."

In the small apartment, the sound of the shower running was loud and distinct. Keith shot him a wry look eerily similar to his daughter's. "Yes."

A shriek sounded from the bathroom and Logan tensed. If he hadn't had Ellie in his arms he would have jumped up.

"Hot water's iffy," was Keith's response.

"Ah." While Logan knew, intellectually, that Veronica and her father didn't have much money, it wasn't something he thought about much. He certainly didn't think about what it was actually like to live in their little low-rent apartment. He remembered the house she'd lived in before Lilly's death as not grand, but pretty and bright. She'd likely never had to take cold showers in those days.

The water shut off and Logan heard the door open. Keith aimed a glare at him, and Logan assumed Veronica had shuffled from bathroom to bedroom in a towel and nothing else. He couldn't see her from his vantage point, but he aimed his eyes determinedly ceiling-ward, just to be safe and hopefully convince her father of his good intentions. Keith chuckled and brought him a cup of coffee, which he took to mean he'd succeeded.

Veronica emerged from her bedroom moments later, having decided to let her hair air dry and that being on Ellie duty meant that wearing a t-shirt and no make-up was just fine. She'd half expected to find the tension in the living room thick enough to cut with a knife, and was gratified that everyone seemed relaxed, even the baby. Logan still held her, but she'd finished her breakfast, so he was using his free hand to hold his coffee. Keith was bent over the newspaper, shoveling cereal into his mouth.

She stopped by Logan's chair. "I can take her if you'd like to get something to eat."

Logan glanced down at the baby, who was contentedly kicking her feet. "She's fine. You go ahead and eat."

"She's going to need to burp in a minute."

Apparently deciding that anything beyond simply holding her was a hurdle he didn't need to jump, Logan stood and held the baby out to Veronica. "On second thought...cereal, was it?"

Veronica accepted her sister with a laugh. "There are Froot Loops in the cupboard."

"Excellent."

Keith looked up from his paper. "So what are you two crazy kids up to today?"

Veronica adjusted the burp cloth and Ellie on her shoulder. "Logan has a _surprise_ for me!"

Keith turned to Logan with a bright smile. "Is it a pony?"

Logan laughed at Keith's spot-on impression of his daughter, but Veronica hissed at him. "Dad! Shh!"

"What? You always ask for a pony!"

"Yes, but Logan's rich, remember? He could actually _buy_ me a pony, and then what would I do?"

"...Ride it?"

Veronica rolled her eyes and Logan laughed again, a chuckle which only got louder when Ellie contributed a loud belch to the conversation.

Veronica patted her back proudly. "That's my girl."

* * *

><p>Logan protested when Veronica automatically headed for her car in the parking lot. "It's a surprise, remember?"<p>

"Logan, we'd have to move all of her stuff out and it would take forever. Just tell me where to drive, it'll still be a surprise."

In response, Logan simply opened one of the back seat doors on his Land Rover. Veronica glanced in, curious both at his silence and the fact that he was dipping his head in the bashful way he'd had in high school whenever he'd done something sweet and hadn't been sure of her reaction.

"You bought a dock for her carrier?"

"Well, I had to buy the whole carrier, actually. So there's an extra one of those."

"Logan..." Veronica shook her head. "Wow. That was really, really thoughtful of you."

He lifted Ellie into the back seat and Veronica reached around him to show him how to lock the carrier in place. "You're not mad?" he asked over her head.

She glanced back at him. "Why would I be mad?"

"You usually get mad when I spend money on you."

"Do I?" She thought about that. "You're right. Huh. Let me grab her stroller from my car."

"No, uh." Logan cleared his throat, clearly still off-balance with her reaction. "There's one of those, too. In the back."

"Logan Echolls, you giant softie."

He rounded the car and climbed into the driver's seat. "Yeah, well..."

Veronica caught his blush and laughed.

They drove a few blocks before Logan spoke again. "So it's okay if I spend money on you as long as it's for Ellie? Or, I guess, to make your life as a big sister easier?"

She considered. "I guess so. All bets are kind of off when it comes to the munchkin. And since I do actually want to pass my classes this semester, I'll take help when it's offered to me.

"Good. That will make this surprise all the better, then."

"I'm sorry if I've been prickly about that in the past. It's one of those things I still have trouble trusting. Plus I'd hate for you to think I was just with you because you were rich."

Logan laughed so hard at that that Veronica almost asked him to pull over. "Oh, God." He rubbed an imaginary cramp in his side and grinned widely at her. "Veronica Mars, I promise you I will never, ever accuse you of being with me for my money. I think the people who accuse me of dating you because of your ability to get me out of jail have it closer to the mark."

"Do people actually say that?" Logan nodded, and Veronica smiled, slowly. It was a smile he had learned not to trust. "Oh, I like that. I'm going to remember that."

He rolled his eyes. "I'd expect nothing else."

* * *

><p>"It's a house."<p>

Veronica was still sitting exactly where she had been five minutes before when Logan had parked the Land Rover and climbed out to extricate Ellie's carrier.

"I don't actually know how to work this thing, you know," he called from the back seat.

"You bought a house?"

"It isn't a done deal. Do you think you could snap out of it long enough to rescue your sister from this plastic prison so we can look around inside?"

Veronica came out of her daze and leaned down to rummage through the diaper bag at her feet. "Just take her out of the carrier and leave it in the dock. I brought a sling." She pulled the length of blue cloth out of the bag and hopped down from the car. Logan held Ellie awkwardly on his hip and watched as Veronica wrapped what looked like a giant scarf around her waist and over one shoulder, pulling the ends through a pair of large rings before holding her hands out to take Ellie. She settled the baby so she was resting across her chest and tugged on the excess fabric until it was secure.

Satisfied that Ellie wouldn't be going anywhere, she glanced up to find Logan watching her with an unreadable expression on his face. "What is it?"

He shook his head slowly. "N-nothing. Um. Where'd you get that thing?"

Veronica laughed. "It was a gift from Parker, of all people. Mac's roommate? She has a couple of nephews and said her sister swears by these things. I kind of like it, actually. Keeps my hands free. What do you think?" She held her hands out to her sides and shifted her hips to strike a pose.

Logan swallowed. "Nice."

"You're acting really odd."

"Yeah." He turned determinedly away. "House?"

"It is a house. Why are you buying a house?"

"I've had a real estate agent looking for a while, actually, ever since Aaron's place burned down."

Veronica noticed the possessive but didn't comment on it. "I didn't really plan to live in the hotel forever. Then Duncan left and I was the one paying for it and the need to find something else wasn't so urgent. But I like this place."

"You couldn't just get an apartment off-campus?" Veronica asked, then rolled her eyes at Logan's look. "Of course you couldn't. So what makes this place so special?" From the street it was actually sort of modest, by 09er standards. It appeared to be a single story, though their proximity to the shoreline made Veronica think it probably dropped down into two stories and what they were looking at was the upper floor. The roof was a wide, decorative A-frame which came to a point just over the front door. Except that where there should have been a single door there were two. "Is it a duplex?"

"Yeah. That's one of the reasons I like it. It's kind of awkwardly split down the middle and I think someday I'd like to tear down the wall and take it back to being a single house, but for now it's a good size."

"So you're buying the whole thing."

Logan made a sound of assent. "Yup. Dick and some of his frat guys are going to rent the other half."

Veronica grimaced. "Oh, goody. I already hate the neighbors."

Logan smirked but was saved from comment by the sound of a car squealing into the drive. The pair turned and watched as a tall woman with fiery red hair climbed out of the low-slung Mercedes. She approached on towering heels, appearing every inch the sleek, high-powered California real estate agent she was. She looked like the kind of women Veronica and her father regularly caught with other women's husbands, but she flashed them a wide smile and Logan responded with a grin that actually showed his teeth-rare, for him.

"Logan!" The woman reached out and squeezed his arm affectionately and then turned to Veronica. "This must be Veronica. I'm Kelly Cornwall. It's so nice to finally meet you!" She took Veronica's hand in a firm grip and shook. "I didn't realize you two had already started a family!"

"What? Oh!" Veronica had placed a hand on Ellie's head, stroking her wispy curls of white-blonde hair. She laughed a little awkwardly. "No, we're not...no. This is my sister, Eleanor. She's just hanging out with us for the day."

Kelly beamed at her. "Lovely! Maybe she'll wake up later and I'll get to meet her. Now!" She turned back to Logan, and held up a set of keys. "Ready to take another look?"

He nodded, and she unlocked the door on the left. Logan lay his hand on the small of Veronica's back as they followed the agent, and Veronica was surprised to find she liked the contact. She glanced up at his face. He was looking around curiously and if she'd had to guess, she would have said he wasn't even aware that he was doing it. "Have you been through before?"

"Once, a couple weeks ago. The sellers needed to make some repairs, which should be done now."

"They are," Kelly confirmed. "This is the larger unit, and has the original kitchen. If you decide down the road the convert it back to a single family home, you'd simply need to demolish the second unit's little kitchen, which really shouldn't be too hard."

Aside from a support column, the floor plan was open, meaning you could clearly see the ocean out the back windows from the front door. The kitchen was to the left, all slate countertops and sleek, modern lines. Kelly asked Logan a question and he walked over to confer with her.

Ellie shifted in the sling and started to fuss, so Veronica walked forwards, bouncing her a little as they went. The wall at the far end of the house was entirely plate glass. There were stairs down to the lower floor on the right, but straight out towards the beach was another set a stairs, stretched across the width of the house, down which was a little sunken area. Standing in the center of it, with the coastline stretched before her, it was easy to forget she was even in a house. She seemed to practically be floating over the water.

"This part juts out from the back of the house," Logan spoke from just behind her. She hadn't realized he'd followed her down. "The first floor ends back at the steps. Underneath where we're standing is a little covered porch."

"It feels like we're floating."

"We sort of are."

Veronica smiled up at him. "I like your house, Logan."

He smiled back, that familiar, bashful smile. "It isn't mine yet. Come on, check out the first floor. There's a pool, too."

There were two bedrooms, one of which had clearly been the master when the two halves of the house had been whole, and thus there were two full baths. The rest of the house was just as bright and sharp as the kitchen had been, which Veronica knew Logan appreciated both for being separate from the heavy formality of the house he'd grown up in, as well as apart from the heavy darkness of the Neptune Grand. But the real gem was the pool.

The two units shared the backyard space, as whoever had first converted the house into a duplex clearly could not bring themselves to go so far as marring the pool. It was easy to see why. A gorgeous slate patio stretched from one end of the house to the other. It was shielded from the beach by a hedge-lined fence, and the whole patio was surrounded by lovely old trees. The pool was covered, but Kelly pointed out which end contained the hot tub. She also gestured to the break in the hedge and advised them to check it out.

On the other side of the fence gate, the slate gave way to brick. The brick patio was small, but sat just above the beach, surrounded by ferns. A small set of stairs led to the actual sand. The shore was peppered with large, low rocks, and it was sheltered and striking, even if they'd probably never build any sandcastles there.

Veronica stood on the patio and watched the waves. She curved one arm underneath Ellie and continued to bounce her. The baby was awake and looking around her with wide, curious eyes. Logan stood next to them, hands in his pockets. "So what do you think?"

"It's a great house, Logan."

"Yeah?" He smiled. "Yeah. I like it a lot. I was thinking about asking Mrs. Navarro if she'd come in a few days a week and help me look after it. I asked Weevil, and he said she hasn't been able to find anything permanent since the house burned down."

Veronica looked up in disbelief. "Logan, you're a single guy in a two-bedroom duplex. Why in the world would you need a housekeeper?"

"Well, you know me, lap of luxury and all that. Plus, she would do the other unit, too, and you know Dick and those guys are definitely going to need help, even if I don't." He ignored Veronica's low comment about them needing a HAZMAT team, not a housekeeper, then said, too casually. "She's good with kids, Mrs. Navarro is."

"Yeah, I know she watches Weevil's nieces-wait. Wait. We don't need a nanny, Logan. Between Dad, Alicia, and me, we're doing just fine."

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and held them up in surrender. "I'm not saying you aren't! I'm impressed as hell with you guys. All I'm saying is that if you're on Ellie duty and you're here with me and we wanted to go out for dinner or to the library or something...that Mrs. Navarro would be happy to help out. Since she's already going to be here."

Veronica continued to study Logan through narrowed eyes. "Don't think I can't tell when I'm being played, Echolls."

He gave her an innocent look. "Does it really count as manipulation when it works in both our favors? And believe it or not, but she actually suggested it."

Veronica wasn't sure she did believe it. "Really?"

"My hand to God. I called her about the housekeeping thing, Weevil had mentioned Ellie to her, and she brought it up. It turns out Weevil's grandma kinda likes us, Mars."

"Huh. How about that." Veronica had stopped bouncing Ellie to concentrate on glaring at Logan, and the baby started to protest. "Sorry, El."

"Hey, um." Logan cleared his throat. "If your shoulder's tired, I could take her for a bit."

Veronica smiled at him, all annoyance forgotten. "Logan, do you want to hold the baby?"

"Shut up. Are you tired or what?"

She laughed, then scooped Ellie out of the sling and handed her to Logan. "You got her?"

He shifted her in his arms, then nodded. Ellie reached out a hand and laid it on Logan's jaw, rubbing a little. Veronica smiled gently at the sight. "She likes you."

Logan shook off his uncertainly long enough to send her a cocky grin. "What can I say? Hot blondes really go for me."

"Oh, ha ha."

Kelly was on her phone when they walked back into the kitchen, but she quickly clicked off. Her already bright smile widened when she saw Ellie with Logan. "Oh, she woke up! What a beauty she is." She held out a hand and Ellie obligingly gripped one of the woman's fingers. Kelly laughed.

Logan spoke up. "Did you bring the papers?"

"Yes!" The agent extricated herself from Ellie's grasp and bent to pull something out of a briefcase at her feet. "What did you think?"

"I think it's perfect." He glanced at Veronica, then back at Kelly. "For all of us."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **The plan is to actually throw a mystery into this thing, but I needed to get some establishing stuff done. There will likely be more domesticity in the next chapter, but hopefully some whodunit, too. I just need to figure out who, um, done what first. Also, there is going to be more kissing stuff. V and L just need to get a goshdarn moment to themselves first.

If you've read anything else I've written, then you know I research the everliving crap out of stuff. The house Logan is buying in based on one for sale in La Jolla, CA. I've duplexified it, but other than that have tried to keep its original bones. I'll put the link on my profile. The sling Parker gave Veronica is a Sakura Bloom Ring Sling. I have it on good authority that they are the shit.

Thanks for all the comments! I actually have a pretty good knowledge of how the rest of the series plays out (it's hard to stay spoiler-free in the internet age), I'm just choosing, for the moment, not to SEE it. Next chapter is forthcoming, but tomorrow is my birthday so I don't know exactly HOW forthcoming. But it'll happen. Birthday girl promise.


	3. Yellow and Black

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the baby. And now Barb, the inwardly surly but outwardly professional department store clerk. And also Chuck, the Other Frat Guy._

* * *

><p>"I don't get it."<p>

"Get what?" Veronica glanced up from her laptop at Mac, who was sitting a few feet away on their shared blanket, likewise occupied with her laptop.

"How you went from zero to supermom in, like, a day."

Veronica laughed. "It's been three weeks. And clearly the secret is delegation." She nodded to the third adult occupant of their blanket, which was stretched across the little brick patio behind Logan's house. Parker hadn't even touched her books, occupied as she was with cooing at Ellie, who was in her carrier.

Mac looked at her roommate. "True. But seriously, you are ridiculously okay with all of this."

Veronica shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the subject. "Honestly, for the first week I refused to be left alone with her. She spent half her time screaming. She was loud and terrible." _And I was terrified I was going to break her,_ Veronica thought, but did not add. "But Alicia-that's Wallace's mom-was a godsend. She nagged and nagged and just wouldn't leave me alone until I stopped being, well, a baby about the whole thing. I still get moments when I think 'This is it, I have ruined this kid's life,' but I've gotten better at putting them out of my mind. I'm, uh, pretty good at ignoring things I don't want to think about." She shot Mac a wry look, and Mac responded with a laugh.

"Fair enough. I don't think you're ever getting the kid back, by the way."

Parker looked up from the baby and grinned. "You'll get her back once I'm done with her."

Veronica laughed. "That's fine with me, but I'm guessing you have midterms-" she broke off at the sound of a crash. All three girls turned towards the house, but couldn't see anything past the trees. Veronica looked at Parker. "Is it okay if I leave her with you for a bit? I want to see what that was about."

Parker lit up. "Of course!"

"Great. Be right back." She stood and had just relatched the gate behind her when Dick came running up. He stopped just short of crashing into her, but Veronica automatically pulled back. "Hey there, Dickie."

"Ronnie! I was coming to see if you guys wanted something to drink. We've got a keg on the fun side of the house!"

"You have no furniture, but you have a keg?"

"Uh...yeah."

She laughed ruefully. "I don't know why I even asked. Tell you what, I'm good, but feel free to ask my lovely companions." She continued on her way.

"Um, Mac's here, right?"

Veronica turned back to look at him. "She is. She's my friend, Dick, and Logan's friend, too. Be a big boy and talk to her." A few months earlier, Dick had gotten uncharacteristically weepy over his drink while Veronica had been visiting Logan. He'd actually confessed, unprompted, to having said something he wasn't proud of to Mac early in the school year. He'd been feeling ashamed, and pissed off about feeling anything at all. Veronica had recommended he apologize, which he hadn't appreciated.

Dick scowled and awkwardly vaulted over the gate. Veronica rolled her eyes and continued towards the house.

* * *

><p>"What...?" Mac looked up at the sound of another crash, this one much closer than the last.<p>

"It sounded like someone fell over the fence," Parker commented. Ellie reached up towards her, so she undid the straps securing the baby in the carrier and lifted her to her shoulder.

"That was no fall, that was a successful landing!" Dick declared, emerging from the shadows of the trees.

"Ah. That would explain the crash." Mac turned back to her laptop.

"Mac!" Dick greeted her. "Mac...Attack." Mac ignored him. Dick swallowed, then turned to Parker. "Hey, Parker! Nice baby!"

Parker was giving her roommate an odd look, but she smiled at Dick's words. "Hi, Dick! Are you getting all moved in?"

He shrugged. "Sort of. I don't really have any furniture, but I got a lady who ordered me some stuff."

Parker lit up. "You hired an interior designer?" Dick nodded. "That is _so cool_. I want to be an interior designer!"

"Cool! So you guys want a beer?"

Mac looked at the clock on her laptop and snorted. It wasn't even noon. Not surprisingly, Parker was a little more polite about it.

"Is there any soda? We're kinda cramming for midterms here."

"Yeah, there should be some. Maybe. Somewhere. I'll check. Be just a sec, Parker." He started to turn away, then paused. "Mac." She continued to ignore him. He walked away.

Once they heard the gate close, Mac relaxed her shoulders and slowly let out a breath.

"Mackie my love," Parker drawled, "just what was that?"

"Nothing. He's just not my favourite person."

"But he's so goofy! How can you hate someone so goofy?"

Mac hunched her shoulders again. "Easily." They returned to the silence of their studies until Mac's phone trilled several minutes later. She glanced at it, then at Parker. "I hope you really are thrilled about the kid, because it looks like Veronica's going to be a while."

"Of course I'm really thrilled!" Parker bounced Ellie on her hip to punctuate the point. "But how do you know that?"

Mic lifted her phone. "Text from Logan."

Parker nodded knowingly. "Ahhhh."

* * *

><p>Veronica didn't see any sign of death or injury around the pool, so she wandered into the house. The first floor was quiet, so rather than looking into the bedrooms, she went upstairs. Weevil's grandmother was pulling pots and pans out of boxes in the kitchen.<p>

"Hi, Mrs. Navarro! How are you?"

The older woman looked at Veronica and smiled. "I am good! It is good to be out of my house. I love my great-grandchildren, but I get tired of the same walls."

Veronica smiled. "I completely understand. I'm glad you're here, I wanted to ask you about something."

Mrs. Navarro stepped away from the unpacking and reached to take Veronica's hand. "Your sister, yes?" At the girl's nod, she smiled. "I am so looking forward to meeting her. The older my family's little ones get, the more I miss how little they used to be!" She laughed, and Veronica relaxed a little.

"So you're really okay with looking after her sometimes? I just don't want you to feel like you're being forced into it. It's really not part of your job description."

"Veronica, the day that someone needs to force me to spend time with a baby is a day I don't want to think about because it means I will be dead."

"Okay. I just wanted to be sure. She really is the sweetest baby. I don't think you'll have any trouble with her at all." Satisfied that Mrs. Navarro hadn't been coerced into nannying, Veronica moved on. "Do you know where Logan is? Or what that noise was?"

Mrs. Navarro huffed out what could have been a laugh. "The noise, it was from the other place," she gestured with one hand to the wall separating the two units of the duplex, "next door. There was a boom! and then everyone was laughing. They are fine."

"Oh, good. Is Logan over there?"

"No, he is with the movers outside." She smiled. "He is a good boy. Eli likes to stomp around and complain about him, but I know better. He is like Eli. They pretend to be bad, but they are both good boys."

Veronica smiled. "I'm a little biased, but I have to agree. Thanks again, Mrs. Navarro."

"You call me Abuela, yes? It is what Logan called me when he was small." She frowned darkly. "Poor boy."

Veronica understood the frown. "Yeah. Thank you, Abuela."

Outside, Logan stood watching as two men in red t-shirts unloaded a box truck.

"Is this your definition of 'moving'?" Veronica asked. "Standing around all Lord of the Manor while other people do the work?"

Logan smiled without turning, and laid an arm across Veronica's shoulders when she drew up next to him. "It's what they expect of me. And you know I hate to disappoint."

"What's already inside?"

"All the big stuff, I think. Bed, dressers, couch, some chairs."

"Table?"

He shook his head. "Apparently we forgot a table."

"We did?" Although hiring an interior designer would have been neater, Logan flatly refused to consider it. Veronica understood his reasoning; he'd spent the whole of his life living in places professionally decorated to the teeth. Still, it meant that the task of choosing and buying fell to him (and, by extension, her). They'd spent the previous weekend cruising furniture websites, and Logan even let Veronica drag him to a few estate sales, which he'd groaned about until they lucked into the home of a collector of mid-century furniture. Logan took one look at the pair of Barcelona Chairs and proceeded to corner the homeowner until she agreed to sell him all of her mid-century pieces (the chairs, an Elliptical Table, six Eames molded plywood dining chairs with metal legs, and a teak credenza-it helped that Logan didn't even bother to bargain), and sent them in the direction of Design Within Reach.

Furniture shopping was something Logan took to with surprising gusto. It made sense, as he'd never really had much control over his surroundings before. Veronica had accompanied him to DWR, peeked at one price tag, and said "Toto, we are not in Ikea anymore." She spent the rest of the day nodding supportively whenever he asked her advice and trying very hard not to add up the prices in her head. Which was probably why she'd missed the fact that he hadn't picked out a dining table.

"I'm sure you can get something. Just call the guy at DWR. He _loves _you. He'd probably tie the thing to the top of his car and bring it to you if you asked him."

Logan grinned down at his girlfriend. "Veronica, are you jealous of the guy who sold me my couch?"

"Shut up."

"It meant nothing to me, I promise!" He bent close to her ear. "Besides, he wouldn't put out."

Veronica swallowed a laugh. "Ugh, come on. Let's take the mattress down."

"But that's what I'm paying those guys to do."

She hauled up one side of the mattress. "Well, I'm not. Do you intend to stand and watch while your girlfriend carries the heavy stuff?"

He caved, as she knew he would, and they hauled the mattress down the stairs, an awkward process, with Logan grumbling about how she was ruining his reputation all the way. In the bedroom, Veronica was surprised to find that everything was already in place. They stacked it on top of the box spring, then she stepped back to take in the room.

The walls were painted a sort of misty grey. The bed was a king, with a tall headboard covered in woven sea grass. It managed to feel beach-y and modern all at the same time. He'd picked out a matching armoir and dresser pair at DWR, both made of walnut. The bed was flanked by a mismatched pair of beaten-up cast iron stools. The main lighting in the room was an interesting chandelier which appeared to consist of dozens of large, old-fashioned light bulbs hanging at varying lengths. There was also a smallish rice paper lamp sitting on one of the dressers. The overall effect was crisp and masculine. Veronica couldn't help thinking that it felt very, very Logan. She continued to turn, taking in the room, coming to a stop facing the wall perpendicular to the bed.

It was a shorter wall than the others in the room, as the door to the attached master bath was along it, but it was plenty long for a single piece of furniture to sit against it. And a single piece did, one very different from the others in the room. It was a wooden vanity, painted a faded and chipping aqua blue. There was a mirror hanging above it and a small wrought iron stool before it, which had a plump red-and-white stripped pillow atop it. The pieces were clearly not a set, but Veronica knew they'd come together. She'd spotted them in the first estate sale they'd hit, had, in fact, sat down on the little cushion and attempted to imitate one of the dames in her father's noir films. Logan had chuckled, they'd moved on to a different house, and Veronica had forgotten the vanity entirely.

She turned to him in time to see him slip his cell phone into his pocket. "Logan."

"It isn't for you." He was quick to assert.

"Oh."

He shrugged. "Sometimes a boy likes to feel pretty. And what's so wrong with that, I ask you?"

She felt a smile working its way across her face. "Nothing."

He approached her, got within arms width. "If you would like to _share_ my vanity, I guess that would be alright."

She scooted into his embrace. "Generous of you."

"Mm. Just out of the goodness of my heart." He bent to nuzzle one of her ears and she obligingly went on her tip-toes.

"Right. No ulterior motives?"

He paused to pull in a breath and she took the opportunity to leap lightly upwards. He caught her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Level as that made them, Logan caught Veronica's heavy-lidded gaze with a wide-eyed one of his own. "Me? Mars, I am _offended_."

In response, she leaned forward to sink her teeth into his bottom lip. He spun towards the nearest wall, but misjudged the distance and effectively crashed them into it. "Ow," Veronica groaned against his mouth.

"Ah, sorry. I got excited." He moved his mouth to her neck and started his way down one side, following her rapidly pounding pulse.

She shifted her hips where they lay against his and chuckled appreciatively. "Yes."

He groaned and lifted his head. "Killing me here, Bobcat."

"Yeah?" Her voice was husky and his heart rate sped up in response to it. "God, Logan, it's been weeks." She pulled his mouth back to hers and let herself sink into the kiss, at the texture of his lips, the sweep of his tongue. She bit his lip again, harder this time, and his arms tightened reflexively.

He pulled back long enough to gasp "Bed," before spinning them towards it. After two drunken steps got them no closer to it, he unhooked her legs from his waist and turned her so he was cradling her in his arms. This shifted her head to the left, giving him enough visibility to get them to the bed and toss her down on it.

She hit the bare mattress laughing, bounced, and then reached to pull him down to her. In the last instant before he'd reached her, she froze. "Ellie. Shoot."

He took advantage of her pause to yank his t-shirt over his head. "I texted Mac," he said, and slid both hands beneath her shirt, working them slowly up her rib cage and taking the shirt with them. "She's got her best man on it." Veronica lifted up, and the shirt came off.

"She's got Parker on it."

"Do you care?" He bent and began a nibbling quest down her front. She immediately buried her hands in his hair, arching up toward him.

"God, no." She hooked her legs around each of his thighs and rolled them so he was beneath her. "How long do you figure we've got?"

He started on the buttons on her jeans. "Let's see...we've probably got enough time to foreplay our way out of these clothes."

"A plan I approve of." She murmurred from her position halfway down his chest, echoing his earlier action.

"Then...well, then I'm going to screw your brains out."

She hummed in approval. "Yes, good, go on."

"And then, since we're lacking sheets or quilt here, I figure I'll toss you into the shower and we can...clean off."

She pulled back so she could see his eyes. "Oooh, the shower. Is it big?"

He grinned back at her. "It's so big."

"I really love your house, Logan."

He reached up to unhook her bra and smiled. "I love it, too."

Using her earlier method, she flipped them back over, slipping her bra off her shoulders and flinging it aside. "Alright, stud. Why don't you foreplay me out of these pants?"

"With pleasure."

* * *

><p>Some time later, Veronica rejoined her friends by the ocean, trying to act nonchalant about her wet hair and the fact that'd she'd been gone for over an hour. She found Ellie asleep in her carrier and both Mac and Parker buried in textbooks. They were, for some reason, passing a 2-liter bottle of Fanta back and forth between them. She sent a questioning look to Mac, who shrugged in response. "Apparently it was the only non-beer libation Dick could find."<p>

"Ah. Well, if you want anything that isn't beer _or_ Fanta, Logan's fridge is stocked. Mrs. Navarro takes good care of him."

Parker smiled. "I like her."

"Yeah, she was a good call on Logan's part. Actually, I was going to take Ellie back so Mrs. Navarro could meet her. You guys feel like a little tour? Aside from a dining table and some lamps, the place is pretty much furnished."

"Oh, yes!" Parker slammed her book shut, startling the baby awake. Ellie immediately started to cry. "Sorry, little girl!" Parker reached down to lift her up, but Veronica walked over.

"I'll take her. I'll see you guys inside?"

They responded that they'd be right behind, so Veronica gathered up her bag and her wailing sister and carried them all into the house. Logan came out of his room in response to the noise. His hair was still wet, but he was clothed. "Hey." He smiled at the girls. "What's all this about?"

"She was startled out of a nap. I thought I'd feed her lunch and introduce her to Mrs. N. Who we're supposed to call Abuela?"

"She asked you to? I haven't called her that in...a long time. It sort of felt like cheating, pretending to have a nice family when my real relatives were so awful."

Veronica lifted Ellie to her shoulder, then went on her tip-toes to kiss Logan softly. "It isn't cheating."

He smiled against her mouth. "I guess not."

Veronica bounced her sister on her hip in an effort to get her to quiet down as they climbed the stairs. "So we need to get you some sheets and towels too, huh?" They'd used a couple of beach towels to dry off after their shower.

He shrugged. "I can order some online. I've got the penthouse through the end of the month, anyway."

"You mean you don't want to sleep here tonight? Now that we've...christened your bed?"

His mind momentarily stuttered to a stop. "I...yes. Very yes. Let's get sheets."

Mrs. Navarro was nearly as thrilled to meet Ellie as Parker had been. She cooed and clucked over her while Veronica warmed up the baby's lunch. Logan unpacked the massive television and had started to connect it to his various consoles when Mac and Parker came in. Mac took one look at the mess of cords Logan was making and chased him off, assuring him she'd have it done in far less time than he would and requesting as payment only that he get his half of their goddamn econ assignment done before Monday. Parker stopped long enough to steal a bottled water from the fridge and then wandered over to the frat half of the house, ostensibly to check out what Dick's interior designer had suggested.

Mrs. Navarro insisted she would be happy to watch Ellie while Logan and Veronica made their run to get linens, but Veronica was still feeling guilty for leaving her sister with Parker for an hour while she and Logan, well, _christened the bed_, and she knew the older woman had already been there, unpacking, for hours. They took Ellie along instead.

The plan was to get all of the linens in one go, so they headed to an upscale department store. Veronica had suggested Target, which had prompted a rant about thread count and Egyptian cotton, which she had tuned out. She had planned to pick up a portable crib to leave at Logan's for Ellie to use, but as her price range was far below his, she decided to make the trip another time.

Just as she had at their earlier DWR visit, Veronica watched, bemused, as Logan set off like a man on a mission the moment they walked in the door. In classic Richie Rich fashion, he immediately commandeered a salesperson. Today's was a rather serious looking woman named Barb. She tried once to pull Veronica into a discussion of bath mats, to which Veronica immediately responded "Oh, I'm just the poor girlfriend. This is all about Moneybags there," which seemed sufficient.

Logan picked out sheets with bright yellow horizontal stripes (presumably of a ridiculously high thread count), a light down comforter, and a blue and white duvet cover with a Greek Key pattern. Veronica's only contribution were two red pillows. Logan spotted them in the cart and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged. "They match the pillow on the vanity stool." For some reason this made him grin like an idiot and plant a quick kiss on her, before he and Barb were off to the bath section.

He didn't need a shower curtain, the shower was glass, but he picked out yellow towels. Veronica looked at the stack and laughed. "You really miss the Xterra, don't you?"

"Do you have a problem with yellow?"

"No, not at all. I just never knew how much you loved it."

"If I buy black towels for your exclusive use, would that make you happy?"

"Yes."

He laughed, then sniffed the air. "Hey, um..." he gestured at Ellie, who was sitting in her stroller, looking around with wide eyes.

Veronica caught his drift, literally. "Oh, goody." She asked Barb for directions to the nearest restroom with a changing table and-with a final, stern "nothing diamond encrusted"-headed off.

Logan wandered over to look at rugs. "So the rumors are true, you just can't keep away from her."

Logan tensed. "If by 'rumors' you mean 'the information you pumped out of a drunk Dick last week,' then yes. They are true. How ya doing, Madison?"

The girl seemed to be torn between wanting to make a good impression on a recent lost conquest and straight ridicule of the man dating her nemesis. Evidently deciding on the former, she gave her best feline smile. "As good as you remember me."

"That's not actually very helpful, you know. I don't really remember Aspen much at all." He shot her a sharp look. "Much less what anyone was wearing."

"That _is_ too bad. I'd be happy to-"

"Why are you here?"

"In...this store?"

"In Neptune. You don't go to Hearst, so what are you even doing here?"

"My life is here."

Logan laughed. "Madison, that is sad. Just pathetic." He finally turned to face her. "If you want my advice, you should leave. Get out of this town and away from high school. There's nothing for you here."

She actually seemed to understand that by "here" he wasn't just talking about the town. "You'll get tired of her, you know. With her bad hair and her stupid little mysteries."

He smiled. "You know, I don't think I will."

Veronica chose that moment to walk up. "Madison." She nodded, once, then looked at Logan. "Find anything?"

He pointed at a rug with white and charcoal zig-zags. "What do you think of that one?"

"Well, it isn't _all_ black, but..." Logan laughed and bent to kiss her head. Ellie gurgled and he reached into the carrier to tickle her stomach.

"Well, isn't this just fucking _domestic_," Madison snapped. Her heels clacked loudly on the marble floor as she marched away. Neither Logan nor Veronica watched her go.

Barb walked over and picked up the rug Logan had indicated. "Will you be needing any crib bedding?"

"No," Logan answered absent-mindedly. Barb looked to Veronica, who shrugged.

"I guess not."

* * *

><p>Mac waited until she heard Logan's Land Rover drive off, then fished her phone out of her bag. "They're gone."<p>

Moments later, Parker called up from the first floor. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Mac shouted back.

"Are you going to help us?"

"Already occupied."

"Okay, we're going to bring the stuff in this door. Shout if they come back!"

"Roger."

Parker headed back out the patio door and into the other unit. "Okay people, we don't know how long they'll be gone! Let's move!"

Dick and Chuck, the frat brother who'd be living in the other room, stood and lifted the finished piece of furniture they'd been assembling all day.

"Uh, this really doesn't weigh that much. You probably only need one of us." Chuck lifted his side higher to show how light it was.

Parker shook her head and moved to open the door. "That is a $700 crib, buddy. You both carry it and you be _careful_."

Dick almost dropped his end. "_$700?_ The kid's only gonna be around another month!"

Parker sniffed. "I don't care. Logan told me to spend whatever I wanted and he approved this model. Now less talking, more walking."

They moved the crib into the second bedroom, which was still empty save for a sage green Womb Chair in one corner, one of Logan's DWR purchases, and a step ladder Parker had stuck in there earlier. She instructed them to place the crib beneath one of the windows, then dragged the ladder over. She pulled a little mobile out of a box and started to climb the ladder.

"Hey Parker, I can get that." Chuck spoke up.

"Oh, do you mind? That would be great. I need to make up the crib." She opened a bag and pulled out a white crib sheet with little green polka dots and shook it out.

Dick wandered out of the room and down the hall. He stuck his head into the other bedroom, which was full of furniture. It looked cool, except for the one weird table. He was heading back out to the patio when he heard the distinctive sounds of someone being eviscerated in Mortal Kombat from the second floor. He took the stairs two by two.

Mac had gotten the tv hooked up in no time at all and since she was curious about how Veronica would react to Logan and Parker's surprise, decided to stick around. Rather than go back to studying, she booted up Logan's PlayStation 2.

"Oh." Dick's voice came from behind her. Her hands tensed, then she lashed out ever more viciously at the poor soul destined to die by her hand in the game. "I thought maybe Logan was back."

"Nope."

An awkward silence fell. Mac, as Sub Zero, stomped somebody's head in. Dick sat next to her on the couch and picked up the second controller. Neither said anything as they settled into a companionable series of fights. They were evenly matched, which came as something of a surprise to them both.

A dozen or so matches in, Dick cleared his throat. "Hey, so. Um. I was a dick."

Mac swallowed a laugh. "Yes."

He groaned. "That's not what I meant. Or it was. I am Dick and I _was_ a dick. To you. Earlier."

She said nothing, but landed a particularly nasty blow to his character's midsection.

"It was a lie. I mean, you know it was a lie. Obviously. But I did, too. I just...I didn't know him at all, you know? He was gone and I thought, he was there all those years and I didn't know him at all."

"Clearly, nobody did." It was an olive branch and Dick grabbed on with both hands.

"I think you did. I don't think he let anybody _really_ know him, you know? But he let you. And that night I didn't know it was your room and then you were there and I just thought that it wasn't fair. He cared about you and who were you? I wanted what you had."

"No, you don't."

Dick had dropped the pretense of playing the game midway through his speech, and after hitting his nonresponsive fighter a few times, Mac stopped fighting, too. The timer continued to run down.

Thinking she meant the sexual aspect of her relationship with his brother, he cleared his throat again. "I mean, not _that_-"

Mac cut in. "No. You don't."

The countdown ran out, the match was ruled a draw. "No," Dick sighed. "I guess I don't. It was really shitty, what he did to you."

"Yeah, it was."

"Um. It was really shitty, what _I_ did to you. I'm sorry."

Mac shifted a shoulder, but kept her eyes forward on the screen. "Thanks."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So it turns out I'm really bad at writing conflict. In this story, anyway. I just want everybody to get along! I hope this chapter didn't get TOO bogged down in furniture. It's hard for me to judge. I...like furniture a lot. Design Within Reach is a thing, and pretty much everything I mentioned here can be viewed there, if you're interested. As an added bonus, if you go to my profile, there's a link to a Polyvore of Ellie's little nursery. Veronica hasn't even seen it yet-consider this your sneak peek!

Next chapter: the smooth sailing gets a little rocky and we head back to school for midterms. This means less Ellie, but more Wallace! Anyway, that's the plan.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! I celebrated 26 by wearing a tiara to a bar.


	4. Ponyboy and the Scoobies

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the baby._

They arrived back at the duplex to find the kitchen put away, Mrs. Navarro gone, and Mac and Dick playing Mortal Kombat in relative silence. Veronica leaned towards Logan and said under her breath, "Quick, go check the ocean. If it's boiling, that would explain this."

He smiled. "Clearly you've never bonded with someone while ripping them apart in a video game."

"Not in a video game, no."

Mac, without pausing the game, shouted "They're back!"

Dick, who had apparently not been as aware of his surroundings as Mac had, dropped his controller in surprise. With a triumphant "Ha!" Mac ended the match.

Dick turned on the couch to face them. "Oh, hey guys. Where's the baby?"

"With my Dad. Whatcha doing here, Dick?" Veronica asked pointedly.

He glanced at Mac and shrugged, then said "Oh, you know, Logan has...furniture."

"Ah."

Chuck emerged from the first floor. "Parker says to tell you that it's ready and to come down."

"Relegated to errand boy, are you, Chuck?" Logan asked.

Chuck's shrug seemed to indicate he was okay with the situation.

"What's ready?" Veronica asked. She pierced Logan with a suspicious glare. He shrugged with as much innocence as he could muster.

Parker called out from the base of the stairs. "Come on, you guys, come see!"

They walked down.

* * *

><p>Veronica dragged Logan into his bedroom and shut the door. "<em>$700 dollars<em>, Logan?"

He really wished Chuck hadn't let that part slip. "I didn't know how much it cost. Parker showed me a photo and I said yes."

"And of course it didn't even occur to you to ask about the price." Logan shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "No, it wouldn't."

"What do you want me to say, Veronica? That I'm sorry for trying to make your life a little easier? Because I'm not! I may not be _too_ familiar with the topic, but I thought that's what people who love each other do!"

"It is! But...Logan, there's a line between helpful and sugar daddy and you have a tendency to charge right over it."

"Is that what you're worried about? I told you, nobody thinks-"

"I don't care what anyone thinks, I care you _you_ think!"

"Veronica, if I thought I could buy your affection, you would have a hell of a lot of diamonds and probably a boat. I don't think of you like that. You _know_ I don't."

He tried to catch her gaze but she wouldn't meet his eyes. "I should go catch Parker before she leaves. She put a lot of work into this for you."

"Veronica-" he called after her.

"I'm not leaving. I made a promise and I'm keeping it. Just...give me a minute." She walked out. Logan didn't stop her again.

Veronica caught up with Parker by Mac's car.

"Hey, Parker!" The other girl turned. She didn't look upset, just...dimmed. "I know that my reaction wasn't exactly what you were hoping for, but it had nothing to do with you."

Parker nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"No, Parker, the room looks awesome. You did a fantastic job. If interior design is what you want to do, I think you should go for it. I don't really know anything about it, but it seems to me that you have an eye for it."

Parker lit up, all dimness gone. "You think so?"

"Yeah. If I ever need anything decorated, I will definitely think of you."

The other girl bent and folded Veronica in an impromptu hug. "Thanks, Veronica! That really means a lot. Oh, and I know that you're mad at Logan about how much stuff cost, but he really didn't know. He just wanted something simple and pretty for Ellie. And, you know, for you."

Veronica nodded and stepped back. "I know. See you next week." She waved to Mac, already in the car, and then headed back inside.

Logan found her in the second bedroom. Parker really had done a great job. Seeing the result, he couldn't feel sorry about the cost. The crib was low to the ground, with a simple, cut-out base in pale maple. The columns of the crib-was that the right word?-were all painted a salmony pink. Parker had picked out sheets and a blanket with highlights of lime green. The knit mobile which hung overhead was a mermaid inside a hoop with little fish hanging off of it. The overall effect was "sweet but not cloying," as Parker had put it, which Logan had thought suited Veronica and Ellie very well. He stood in the doorway and leaned against the jamb, watching her.

She reached out a hand and touched the mobile, sending it spinning. "Sometimes I hope she fails."

Logan straightened. "Your mom?"

She turned to face him and her eyes were wet. "Isn't that awful? I look at Ellie and I try to remember how good things were, when I was little. Before the drinking got bad, when she was just my mom. I want that for Ellie, I do." She looked back at the crib.

"You love her."

"But what if it's too much? My mom's going to come back and take her and then what will I do? The problem isn't that you're making things easy, Logan, it's that you're making things _too_ easy!" She spun to face him, glaring in accusation. "And what are you going to do with this stuff when she's gone? What then?"

"Let's get married."

That shocked the anger out her. "What?"

He nodded, pleased with himself. "Yeah. Yeah, let's get married. We'll drive to Vegas, get hitched, drive back, knock you up, and then bam! Don't have to get rid of the crib."

Veronica gave a watery laugh. "What if we have a boy?"

"Veronica Mars, how dare you enforce gender stereotypes on our unborn child." He reached out to her and she let herself be tugged into his arms.

She chuckled into his shirt. "See? It's easy. But I don't want easy, Logan. I don't trust it." She angled her chin up until she was looking at him. "Admit it, you don't trust it, either."

"No. But I'll take it when I can get it."

"I can't do that. I need to feel like I've worked for things. Like I've earned them. I understand that."

He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Dragon slayer."

She swallowed her smile. "Shut up."

"I get it, Veronica. I may not feel the same way, but I get it. All I ask is that you let me be the Patsy to your Lancelot."

"Ooh, clever man with his Monty Python references."

"I don't spend _all_ of my time drunkenly falling off of surfboards, you know." He kissed her softly, and then lingered, letting it deepen.

Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up so he could straighten. He started to work one of his hands underneath her shirt and she pulled away, laughing. "Uh-uh, that's enough of that, Gomez." He grinned, grabbed one of her hands, and began dramatically kissing his way up her arm. "No no," she pulled her hand away and slapped it to his chest, pressing him back a step. "_You_ have half of an econ project to complete, buddy."

"Yeah, by Monday."

"Yes, and _I_ have a family dinner to get to. At this rate, I'm going to be late and Wallace hates it when he has to sit at the kids table by himself."

"What about Darryl?"

"Darryl sits with the grown-ups. He's proven his ability to sit through a meal without flinging peas at people. Wallace hasn't."

"Then why are you at the kids table?"

Veronica grinned devilishly. "Who do you think flung the first pea?"

Logan laughed. "Alright. You've got exams Monday, right?"

They walked up the stairs. "Yeah. Two. But I'll call you after the first."

"If I finish early I'll wait outside your building."

"Okay, but be extra creepy, alright? It's a profiling class, those kids love that stuff."

"Right, extra stalker with a side of pervert." He waited while she threw her bag over her shoulder and then kissed her. When she hummed in appreciation, he started to pull her closer, but she pulled away, laughing.

"No! Bad Logan. You go study!"

He gave her a salute as she closed the door. Turning, he surveyed the nearly furnished house. He inspected the television, all cords expertly coiled by Mac. What the hell, he thought, maybe he would get to work on that econ thing.

* * *

><p>"Hey, could you pick me up on your way in to campus tomorrow?" Wallace asked.<p>

They were sitting in the Fennel living room after dinner. This was one of the things Veronica liked best about their blended "family" dinners-the hanging out afterwards. Keith, Alicia, and Darryl were piled on the couch, watching The Simpsons, Backup snoring at their feet. Ellie was asleep in her portable crib (which Keith had bought at Target, thankyouverymuch) in the office. Wallace and Veronica were sprawled out across a pair of armchairs, books and papers scattered. It reminded her of high school in a way she didn't hate at all.

"Sure," Veronica answered. "How'd you get here?"

"Piz dropped me off. Had to go to the music store for more guitar strings or something, I dunno."

"Ah, Piz. I feel like I haven't seen him lately."

"Probably because he's been avoiding you. You know that boy is crazy about you, right?"

Veronica looked up from her psych textbook. "I wouldn't say _crazy..._" Wallace nodded emphatically. "Well, he knows he's doomed to disappointment, right?"

Wallace shrugged. "I think he kinda got his hopes up when it looked like you and Logan were done for last month. I told him that was a thing you guys did every once in a while, but..." he trailed off, shrugged. "He doesn't know."

"What's a 'piz'?" Keith asked from across the room.

"Wallace's roomie," Veronica said.

"You mean Stosh?" Alicia asked at the same time as Darryl commented, "I like him, he's good at the guitar."

"'Stosh?' 'Piz?'" Keith looked at them askance. "Is this a person or a junk food?"

"He could really be mistaken for either," Veronica said.

Wallace kicked her. "Stosh Piznarski. Weird name, cool guy. Has a show on the campus radio and a huge, awkward crush on Superfly here."

"Ugh." Veronica groaned. "That just makes things weird. Have you told him my boyfriend has been known to kick butt and take names?"

Wallace nodded. "Heck, I told him he bashed in your headlights the day I met him."

"Logan did _what?_" Keith asked.

"Really?" Darryl's tone of voice was far more impressed than disapproving.

Veronica glared at Wallace. "It was a misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding?" Keith was astonished.

"He misunderstood basic human decency." Veronica said simply. "He figured it out."

"What happened to the car? I don't remember this at all," her father said.

"Weevil took care of it," she replied.

"Weevil?" Alicia asked.

"Eli Navarro," Keith supplied.

"Ah. Veronica, you really did have the oddest high school experience."

"You're telling me." She lowered her voice, directing the conversation back to Wallace. "It isn't really weird for you, is it? Because Logan is always up for an opportunity to hover threateningly."

"Yeah, the problem isn't Logan. It's that he thinks you're a super hero."

Veronica sent him a baffled look. "Why?"

Wallace laughed. "Why do you think I dogged you from day one even though you were surly as hell? You're kind of awesome, Ponyboy."

She considered. "I don't think I like that comparison."

"You call me Soda Pop."

"Yeah. Because it fits."

"Fine. From now on you're...Buffy."

She laughed. "That's one I can appreciate."

"Oh hey, it looks like I'll be playing in the next game. You gonna be there?" Wallace had turned back to his notes, and his tone was a fair attempt at off-hand, but Veronica knew him too well.

"A chance to prove to the whole school that I'm the best BFF a baller can have? Where else would I be?"

He grinned up at her. "Man, that's one thing I miss about high school-the snickerdoodles!"

"Me, too!" Keith spoke up and was echoed by both Alicia and Darryl.

"I had no idea I was feeding the whole clan!" Veronica laughed. She settled further into the chair and turned back to her book, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She thought about how it was when she was a little girl, life with her mother, what she wanted for Ellie. She thought about how it was after her mother left, when it had been just her dad and her. That was tougher, but it was also better in a lot of ways. It was what she'd needed then. But here and now, with this group of people...she thought that maybe this was the best of the three. She looked across the room at her dad, found him watching her. She quirked an eyebrow at him, and he grinned back, slow and wide.

This definitely felt like home.

* * *

><p>Back at the little Mars apartment, everything seemed unnaturally quiet. Keith was settling Ellie into her crib while Veronica poured herself a cup of orange juice.<p>

"Is it weird that I've become used to having brothers and you and Alicia aren't even engaged?" She asked, keeping her voice low. Ellie was a pretty sound sleeper (a boon in an apartment complex with paper walls), but Veronica wasn't about to risk it.

"Yeah, about that..." Keith walked over to the island.

Veronica grinned. "Are you engaged? Will Wallace and I get our bunk beds after all?"

"Well, I haven't asked her yet, but..." Keith cleared his throat and fished something out of his pocket. He placed it on the counter, where his daughter pounced on it.

She opened the ring box and whistled. It was a solitaire diamond set in a yellow gold band, but the gem was cushion cut, round and not small. "Oh, good job, Dad! Does this mean I'm out the rest of my college education?"

Keith scoffed. "I can budget, Veronica. On an unrelated note, we'll be renting your room out for the foreseeable future."

"Fine. I'll bunk with Backup." The dog lifted his head at the sound of his name, then rolled over on his back. Veronica laughed. "You classy, classy beast."

* * *

><p>On Monday, Logan was lurking, as promised, outside of Veronica's building. She shook her head at him as he approached.<p>

"Come on, you don't have a dark hoodie somewhere? I know you, Logan, and you have the potential to be _much_ creepier than this." She stabbed his chest with a finger for emphasis.

"If it makes you feel better, I leered at everyone who walked out before you."

"I suppose it'll have to do. Where's your stuff?"

He nodded in the general direction of the quad. "Picnic table. I got you a salad and fries. The Scoobies await."

She smiled. "You've been talking to Wallace."

"You as Buffy. I like it."

She nudged him with her shoulder. "Only because it means you get to be a vampire. Well, I suppose you _are_ a reformed bad boy."

"See? It fits."

"You know what Mac calls me, right?"

"Uh-uh."

"Bond."

He chuckled at that. "Well, she does make a good Q. Wait, so does that make me Moneypenny or a Bond Girl?"

Veronica made a show of inspecting him, head to toe. "Oh, a Bond Girl. Definitely. You are all eye candy."

Veronica's cell phone rang just as they reached the table. It was her dad, so she hung back to take it. When she answered, all he said was "She said yes."

"Yay!"

"But don't tell Wallace, Alicia wants to do that."

"Okay, okay, fine. But, yay!"

Keith laughed. "We'll all go out to celebrate once you guys are done with midterms. Good luck on psych, kiddo."

"Thanks!"

She hung up and looked across the table to see Wallace also on his phone. He clicked off just after she did. He looked up at her and smiled. "Bunk beds?"

She laughed. "Bunk beds!"

The rest of the "Scoobies," as Logan had termed them, looked between Wallace and Veronica in confusion.

"Veronica's dad and Wallace's mom are getting married," Logan explained. Veronica looked at him in surprise. "Hey, I hear things! And sometimes I even understand what the hell you two are saying." Both Veronica and Wallace laughed.

"That's so sweet! You guys are like brother and sister now," Parker said.

Wallace shrugged. "We kinda have been for...ever."

"Yeah, the sexual tension was hard to get past in the beginning, but we manged it. For our parents' sakes." Veronica laughed as Wallace shuddered in exaggerated disgust.

Conversation turned to midterms. Mac was the only one who had finished with hers, and she took great joy in lording the fact over the rest of the group. Parker and Piz were in the same communication class, so they shared notes on their persuasive speeches.

Dick asked Wallace about the upcoming game. Wallace look startled at being addressed by Dick, much less that the other guy knew that he would be playing, but he answered. Veronica knew there was only one way that Dick would know that particular bit of information. She shot Logan a look out of the corner of her eye. He leaned in to speak directly in her ear. "I had the oddest conversation with Dick this morning. I'll tell you about it later."

"Yeah, not that I mind having him here, but why is he?" Veronica answered at the same volume.

Logan brushed his thumb over her cheek as she munched contemplatively on a french fry. "I have a suspicion, actually. But I want to see if you notice what I did."

Veronica nodded and turned her gaze towards Dick, skirting over Piz as she did so. He was watching Logan and her with what could only be termed as sadness. She smiled at him, but attempted to make it as friendly and un-loverly as a smile could possibly be. He smiled back, and since he didn't appear hopeful, she termed it a success.

She looked at Dick. Dick, Dick, Dick. The only one who had been able to out-jerk Logan at the height of his asshole days, the stereotypical rich frat guy, but there were moments now when he just looked broken. She thought that it was entirely possible that Cassidy's actions and subsequent death had hit him harder than anyone else, even Mac.

On that thought, someone called Mac's name. The girl looked up and smiled at Bronson, who was approaching from the direction of the science buildings. She gathered her bag and lunch tray and stood. Parker asked her if she was up for the gym that afternoon, and Mac agreed. Then, with a general farewell to the table, she walked over to greet Bronson. He took her tray and bent to kiss her hello.

Veronica looked back at Dick, then froze in surprise. His eyes were trained on Mac and Bronson and he looked..._pained_. Then, as she watched, his expression went carefully blank.

Veronica grabbed Logan's thigh under the table to get his attention and said "Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa."

Logan, who'd also been watching his friend, nodded without looking at Veronica. "You saw it, too?"

"What was _that?"_

"That's what I was talking about."

Veronica was still watching Dick. Wallace turned away from his conversation and caught her gaze, returning it with a questioning one of her own. She shook her head, then nodded at him in a way that she knew he would understand meant "Later." He nodded back.

Veronica fished out her cell phone to check the time, then gathered up her bag and books. Logan started to stand, but she waved him back. "No, I'm going to do some last minute cramming before my psych exam. That means _no distractions_," she said pointedly.

He smirked. "Can I really be blamed if you can't keep your hands off of me?"

She narrowed her gaze and pointed threateningly at him, then bent to pick up her tray.

"Leave it," Logan said. "I'll get it. Go study."

"Thanks." She bent and kissed him quickly, then started to go. "Oh, wait! I almost forgot. _Somebody_ got a visit from the snickerdoodle fairy this weekend." She pulled a Ziploc baggie of cookies out of her bag and tossed them to Wallace, who caught them with a wide grin.

"Hot damn!"

"Later, folks." She had a psych exam to ace.

* * *

><p>Parker left to go to the library soon after Veronica's departure. Wallace dug into the cookies. "Oh man, best sister ever."<p>

"I thought she wasn't you sister yet," Piz said.

"Whatever, she's still the best," Wallace said around a mouthful of cookies. Dick reached a hand into the bag, but Wallace snatched it back. "Nuh-uh, these are my special game week cookies. They make my jump shot higher."

"At the rate you're eating them, you aren't going to be stand up, much less jump." Logan observed wryly.

Wallace scowled at him, then reluctantly placed the bag back on the table. "Fine. You get _one_." Piz and Dick both reached in the bag. Wallace raised his eyebrows at Logan.

He shrugged. "I'm good." At Wallace's incredulous look, he explained: "You know she's got another two dozen at home. You get the milk, but _I've_ got the cow." He grimaced. "Actually, nevermind. Can we strike that comparison from the record?"

Wallace grinned. "No way. That is leverage, and I am holding onto it."

"Shit."

Piz cleared his throat. "So Veronica's dad is gonna be your step-dad, huh? What's he like?"

"He's a good guy," Wallace said. "Used to be the sheriff. Now he's a P.I."

"Whoa, really?" Piz sounded impressed. "That's badass."

"Where do you think Veronica learned all of her Nancy Drew stuff?"

"I dunno, I guess I never thought about it."

"Well, he's good to my mom and Darryl. Plus, he knows how to use his gun, so if anything ever happens I know they'll be safe."

"His _gun?_ Whoa." Piz looked at Logan. "It doesn't bother you, dating a girl whose dad carries a weapon?"

Logan had taken out a text book and was reading it. He shifted his shoulders in what might have been a shrug. "We've reached an understanding."

"Dude, Logan's saved Ronnie's life, like, twice." Dick had finished his cookie and laid his head on the table. He spoke without opening his eyes.

"Really?"

Logan shrugged and turned back to his textbook.

Wallace nodded. "Yeah. Hanging out with Veronica can be pretty dangerous." He snagged another cookie. "But also occasionally tasty!" Deciding to take a cue from Logan, he pulled out his physics notebook to work through some practice questions. Piz took out a copy of the book his English class was reading, and the three guys sat in studious silence before peeling off for their respective exams. Dick took a nap.

* * *

><p>Wallace and Logan were headed to the same area of campus, so they walked together.<p>

"I know what you were trying to do," Logan said suddenly.

"What?" Wallace asked.

Logan laughed. "You forget I'm used to the Mars level of sneakiness. You may be almost siblings, but you've got nothing on Veronica."

Wallace cleared his throat. "Oh. Ah-"

"I appreciate it."

That was not the reaction Wallace had expected. "You do?"

Logan shrugged. "Piz seems like a nice guy. Doofy, but nice. I'd hate to have to punch him."

"Yeah. That's, ah, also what I'd like to avoid. And, I mean, he's my roommate and my friend and Veronica is my friend and almost my sister and I'd like it if we could all be cool and not awkward together." He paused. "But honestly, it's mostly the punching."

Logan chuckled. "I'm not concerned that he's going to steal her away from me. But it makes her uncomfortable."

"Yeah. I know."

"Anyway, I gotta go prove my knowledge of all of Western Art. See ya later."

"See ya."

Wallace watched Logan walk away and thought that though he'd has his doubts about the two of them in the beginning, he was glad that Logan and Veronica were together. He was good for her.

And dammit, why was he wasting his cranial space thinking about this nonsense when he had dozens of equations he needed in there? He shoved another cookie in his mouth and continued on to the science building.

* * *

><p>Veronica checked her phone as she walked out of her exam and saw she'd missed a text from Logan. She sent him a text back in case he was still in his exam. Fifteen minutes later, he called.<p>

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"I remain fairly confident in my ability to tell a Picasso from a Matisse," he said.

"What?"

"Nevermind. It went well. How was yours?"

"Pretty good! I don't think I'll be failing out this semester. So what's up?"

"You've got your last midterm tomorrow, right?"

"Ah..." she wracked her brain. "Last in-class. I have a take-home test due Wednesday, but I'm on top of it."

"Then how do you feel like going out tomorrow? Get dinner someplace fancy and then take the boat out in the evening?"

"Oh, Logan that sounds amazing, but I can't. I was scheduled to work at the library Friday, but I switched shifts so I could go to Wallace's game. I've got the girl thing tonight and I'm Ellie duty on Wednesday and Thursday, so Tuesday was the only day I could do it. I'm sorry."

"Ah, that's okay. It was last-minute, anyway. I forgot about the girl thing."

"Yeah, we're gonna paint our nails and talk about how totally dreamy Bobby Jensen is or something."

"Who's Bobby Jensen?"

"Nobody, I made him up. Don't you go and punch some innocent guy, Logan."

"I don't know where you get these ideas about me."

She laughed. "Me neither. Anyway, I figured I'd use the opportunity to see if Mac was aware of Dick's little crush. If she isn't, I'm not going to say anything. It'll just weird her out. Have you actually talked to him?"

"Yeah, that's what today's weird conversation was about. He started talking about how Mac kicked his ass in Mortal Kombat. I sort of tuned him out, and then the next thing I know he's saying how he always thought the chick in Ghost World was actually pretty hot and did I remember when she used to do that thing with the colors in her hair?"

"Oh, God. What did you say?"

"Nothing! It was so bizarre. I panicked and started talking about Wallace and basketball. It was the first thing I thought of for some reason."

Veronica laughed. "Ahhhhh. Well, that explains that, anyway. Look, I know you don't really love it when I pull you into things..."

He interrupted her. "No, I'll talk to him. We're going surfing tomorrow morning. I am legitimately curious about this. Plus, I like Mac. She's got her thing with that eco kid or whatever."

"Bronson. I'm not sure how long that's going to last, actually. He's cute, but they don't really have anything in common. Not that that's the end of the world. I mean, look at us."

"We have stuff in common!"

"Rapier wit and stunning good looks don't count."

"Ah. Damn."

"Okay, I'm at her dorm. I'll give you a call tonight?"

"Okay. I love you."

The saying of "I love you" over the phone was a new thing for them, and Veronica still blushed whenever he did it. "I love you, too," she mumbled.

"What was that, pumpkin?"

"I said shut up." He was laughing as she hung up the phone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I think they handled that pretty well. Can I just say that the Mars/Fennel blended family is like my favourite thing ever? And that I think it's a tragedy we didn't see more of Darryl in the show?

To those of you who have given me pro-MaDi reviews: I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with the interactions between those two and if I was going to go down the romance road (though I enjoy reading MaDi in other fics), but I've clearly decided to give it a try. I haven't decided how things will go, but I do know that it's either going to be incredibly complicated or startlingly simple. We'll see.

Thanks for the continued reviews! They break the monotony of applying for jobs and watching my dogs sleep. And are, in general, AWESOME.


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